This marks a new phase in the rising popularity of NFTs. As per NonFungible.com, the total value of NFT sales in the first half of 2021 was over $2.5 billion, representing a massive surge compared to the same period last year when NFT sales totaled just $13.7 million.
The partnership between RMS Titanic, Venture Smart Financial Holdings, and Artifact Labs will begin tokenizing precious artifacts from the Titanic to unlock a myriad of Web3 functionalities. Select artifacts from the Titanic will be preserved as nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to open up shared ownership to the general public. This will create a digital means to interact with RMS Titanic content outside of physical exhibitions in Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Artifact Labs will create NFTs for 5,500 recovered artifacts from the sunken ship using its in-house NFT blockchain system. Future artifacts retrieved from the resting place of the Titanic are also set to be minted as NFTs. These NFTs are expected to offer exclusive benefits to collectors, including VIP events and exhibitions, seminars with historians and other exclusive experiences.
In addition, Artifact Labs plans to create the Titanic DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), allowing members to participate in various initiatives and proposals for future exhibitions to the Titanic site.
The DAO will also facilitate the development of educational programs, digital content, documentaries, research, partnerships, and events. DAO members are also expected to have a say in the preservation and exhibition of recovered artifacts from the wreckage.
The Titanic DAO treasury will be managed by members using governance tokens and funded through proceeds of NFT sales. The tokenized instruments are intended to be offered to accredited investors to create an avenue for “compliant capital raising” to fund ongoing research, recovery, preservation, exhibition and licensing of RMST’s assets.
This partnership highlights the potential of blockchain and NFTs to unlock new ways of preserving and sharing important historical artifacts with the public while also creating new revenue streams. Through tokenization, people can own a piece of history, and at the same time, contribute to the preservation of the Titanic’s legacy.